The Tikori Chronicles: Death of a Wraith
by JensaaraiWraith75
Summary: Book Two of the Tikori Chronicles. After combining the Jedi and Sith under the Jensaarai banner, Ryu is faced with a new war against a mysterious leader. In order to save those that he loves, Ryu will make the ultimate sacrifice.  Final chapter posted!
1. The Departure

**The Departure**

They had come in like a flood, those abominations that called themselves force users. They had exploited the weak points of the temple's structure as if they had known it all their lives. There had been no warning; no sign of approaching fleets, no one out of the ordinary was seen on the grounds prior to the attack. It had been a perfect ambush and the Jensaarai were paying the price for their ignorance.

Ryu and Brianna charged down the stairs and into the greeting hall of the temple, a young boy clinging to his Ryu's neck while he held him up with one arm. They had just barely escaped through the carnage that had spilled from the private quarters and into the hallways. It had blown Ryu's mind that he, Brianna and their son, James, hadn't been targeted first. They were the top of the echelon, the ones calling the shots... well Ryu and Brianna at least. It didn't make sense. If they had wanted the Jensaarai to be disoriented, unorganized and defeated much easier, they would have first gone after the leaders. Something didn't feel right. The force was telling him to leave, to turn around and get back to someplace safe. But there was no safe. Turning around would mean going to the exact opposite of safe. The three of them would be engulfed in warfare. He wouldn't be able to protect Brianna or James without possibly killing more of his own men than not. This was the only way to safety.

However, the greeting hall made Ryu feel no safer. In fact, he felt more uncomfortable than he had when they were running through the fighting in the hallways upstairs. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. He had expected more carnage down here in the huge open floor space than they had found upstairs... but there was nothing, only emptiness and silence. The force was screaming at him, telling him that this was bad, that he had to get out now, find some place safer. But this was the quickest way to get Brianna and their son, James, out of the temple. He couldn't risk jumping from the upper levels with a five year old in his arms. Brianna would've been fine jumping but James wouldn't be.

With that in mind, Ryu took Brianna's hand with his free one and pressed on at a quicker pace, their footsteps echoing in the huge, empty room. Brianna hesitated and James pressed his face into Ryu's chest, whining loudly. His force powers weren't trained yet but they were obviously starting to affect him.

"Ryu," Brianna said quietly, "I don't like this. The force is telling me that something is terribly wrong."

Ryu didn't even flinch. "I know, Bri, but we need to get James to safety and this is the only way to do that right now. " He should have known better, should have paid attention. It was as if he had learned nothing from his many years of combat. Then he heard them.

From the huge slabs of metal that served as the temple's main entrance, Ryu heard a battle cry ring out from what sounded like thousands of lungs followed closely by a deafening bang of something slamming into the doors. Then it hit him. They hadn't attacked the three of them first because they were waiting to spring a trap. Somehow, their leader knew that Ryu would first take his family to safety before coming back to defend his temple. They had planned on it all along. Now they would storm the greeting hall and kill the three of them. Ryu would be too unwilling to let loose and fight with his five year old needing protection. He would be tethered down. They could surround the three of them and slay them with little effort. Ryu would not let that happen. His wife and son would survive, even if it meant his life would end here.

Another large bang rocked the hall as Ryu turned to Brianna. "Bri, you need to get to safety. You and James. Here," he handed James over into her loving arms. "Take him and head for the door to the first floor landing pads. There'll be a cruiser there that you can take to find safety. Find Dominique. She'll take care of you." Truth be told, Ryu hadn't seen much of his sister lately. He wished he knew exactly where she was so he could tell Brianna specifically where to go. But with Ryu being busy presiding over the Jensaarai, there was hardly any time for a family reunion.

As expected, Brianna protested fervently. "I can't leave you, Ryu. Let me stay and help you. I can fight."

"No, Bri." Ryu's voice had an edge to it as he spoke. Time was short. They needed to be gone before the ambushers broke open the doors. "You've got to get James somewhere safe. I'll hold them off so you two can escape."

As he was saying that, a caretaker came running out of a room on the left side of the greeting hall. She was battered and bruised, clearly having just escaped from a fight with one of the men attacking the temple. The caretakers, as the name suggests, were there for the sole purpose of taking care of the children of the Jensaarai warriors when their parents were out on an assignment or were in training. In fact, as she got closer, Ryu recognized this woman as one that has taken James many times while Brianna and Ryu were out on a mission, whether together or separately. Ryu sighed to himself and rolled his eyes. _"It figures…" _

Before the woman had even reached the Tikori family, Brianna was turned towards her, holding out James for her to take. "Kitara, please take James to the cruiser waiting outside on the first floor landing bay. Make him comfortable and wait for us to join you before going anywhere."

"Yes, Milady." Brianna turned to Ryu with a smug look of victory, as if to say "what's your excuse now?" As the caretaker walked away, Ryu sighed and simply said, "Alright."

The bangs on the door had never lessened. In fact, they had grown stronger each time. Ryu could tell that the doors were weakening. They'd soon be broken down, allowing hundreds of the force user wannabes to flood the greeting hall. He had to act fast.

He gave Brianna a soft smile and held out his arms to her, as if to welcome her into them. He could see the relative confusion on her face but she stepped into his embrace none-the-less. He stroked her head softly, running his fingers softly through her long smooth hair. He held onto her for as long as he could; savoring the feeling of her embrace. Her presence and the feel of her body against his calmed him and even seemed to build up his strength. Her presence made him more resolved to the course that he knew he had to take. He hated leaving her, especially when he knew he may not see her again... It felt like an hour had gone by before Ryu was able to pry himself away from her warm embrace. She wasn't going to like what he was going to do... but he had to do it.

Looking down at her, he spoke softly. "I love you, Bri. I hope you know that." She looked up at him with a mixture of confusion and horror. She knew his plan, knew what he was going to do. He had known she would be upset.

Her voice was thick with fear as she spoke to him "Ryu-" That was all she got out. Even as she spoke the word, Ryu's hands had moved to her shoulders and he was pushing backwards softly. When there was enough room between them, his left hand slipped in between them and rested on her stomach. A small force push exploded from both of his hands. Though the push was strong enough to send her out of the side door and into the hall leading to the first floor landing pad, it had been weak enough to keep her from harm and allow her to land safely on her feet. She recovered quickly and immediately began to run at the door to get back to him but Ryu was one step ahead. With a swipe of his hand, a pillar was broken from its place and lodged in front of the doorway, keeping her from getting back inside. But that didn't stop her from slamming her entire weight into the now closed door to try to force it open again.

When the door didn't budge, she slammed her fists angrily against it, screaming out Ryu's name in both frustration and sorrow. Tears streamed down her face. She wanted only to be there with him, to make sure that he didn't die. She didn't know what she would do without him. She cried out to him through the force. "Ryu, get out here! I can't just leave you here! You have to come with us! Your son needs you. _I_ need you!"

The tone of her voice pained him. He was glad that he wasn't looking her in the eyes right now. It would have been more than he could bear... "You know I can't leave, Bri. I have to protect the Jensaarai. I can't abandon the people who would gladly give their lives to save mine."

"Then let me come back in! Let me fight with you!" She was frantic; desperate to get back to him.

On the outside, Ryu remained calm and collected but on the inside, his heart was torn. He wanted to be with her, to protect her and know that she was with him during the fight of his life. She was his rock and his strength, the very reason that he lived. He needed her by his side... but he had to make sure shew would be safe. He hated himself for doing this... but he had to do it... for their son. "No, Bri. James needs at least one parent. I can't risk us both dying here and leaving James to be an orphan. You must go with him, Bri. I'll be alright, I promise."

There was a short pause, but Ryu could feel her agony. He was fine with waiting for her response, but he feared that the ones attempting to break in would not be so patient. Finally, she spoke a very short phrase. "You better." Ryu chuckled softly at but one was not returned. This was no laughing matter. She meant it. Shortly after, she told him she loved him and he said it back without hesitation. "Find us as soon as they're all dead," she said. There was a violent intensity about the way that she said "dead," and it brought a smile to his face. Sometimes he forgot that the kind, loving woman that was his wife had once been the leader of a powerful group of Sith Priestesses. Her connection to the darkside was strong and he found it infinitely sexy when she allowed that side of her to shine through.

"I will. Now go!" With that, the force connection ended and he could feel her running towards the landing pad. He felt better knowing that she and James were safe. Now he could focus on the fight. Her words were ringing in his head still. "You better." He smiled softly to himself. Knowing that she was safe brought Ryu some peace despite the turmoil of the coming moments.

Behind him, he heard a terrible cracking sound that seemed loud enough to carry even to the very uppermost levels of the temple complex. Ryu didn't have to turn around to know exactly what had happened. All of that banging on the door had destroyed the locking mechanism. All that it needed now was one good hit and, metaphorically speaking, the floodgates would be opened up.

Ryu smirked to himself, somehow reveling in the coming battle. It would be a real challenge and oh, how he loved a challenge. While still facing the side door through which Brianna had just exited, Ryu reached behind him to the base of his neck. There, he found the thick visor helm and the stretchy black cloth attached to it. He pulled the visor up and around until it was resting firmly in place just above his brow. Next, he found the material that was down around the front of his neck. He pulled it up over his face so that the only thing left visible were his eyes. Digging into a pocket of his cloak, Ryu found his elbow length gloves and pulled them on. Finally, he tossed off his cloak, discarding it to the side of him so that it was well in the back of the greeting hall. He was left standing in his assassin's outfit, the thick but flexible black fabricated armor gleaming in what little light had found its way into the hall.

Ryu turned hard to the left, spinning 270 degrees on his left toes to face the entrance to the greeting hall. As he did so, Ryu's right hand swung up across his body. His saber was pulled off of his belt and had caught up to his hand in mid swing. As soon as Ryu touched the cool, shimmering metal, his finger found the activation button and the jet black blade was ignited. With his saber in hand and facing the doorway, Ryu dropped immediately into a defensive stance just as the final and loudest bang resounded from the door, sending the heavy metal slabs crashing to the ground.

As the enemies came rushing in, Ryu found himself giving that infamous Tikori smirk. It was something that any true descendant of the Tikori line did. Most families had specific traits or money or something tangible to pass to future generation, but not the Tikoris. They passed down smugness and a facial expression to go with it. He was ready and confident. He had nothing to hold him back, nothing to worry about except showing these men the price for crossing him. He hoped that they were ready for a fight. He sure was.

**Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed this installment into Ryu's story. If you did, please review! If not, I'd love to hear some constructive criticism =]


	2. The Backstory

**The Back Story**

The invaders flooded into the greeting hall through the make shift door they had just created. They didn't stop to make battle formations. They didn't wait to see if Ryu was ready. They didn't even seem to care if Ryu had called down extra forces to ambush the intruders as they charged at him. They simply ran at full speed towards the Master Assassin. These men weren't trained warriors... Then again, he hadn't expected them to be.

This was the first time that Ryu had actually gotten to see them, the completed form at least. He had seen many variations, each one growing in strength as this rebellion went from a minor annoyance to an all out war. These warriors were average, normal citizens of the galaxy, each with their own body type and build. But whoever was leading this rebellion, whatever fool it was that dared to challenge Ryu and the Jensaarai, had created equipment that allowed the common folk to not only connect with the midichlorians in their body as Jedi and Sith do, but also force the midichlorian particles to multiply more rapidly. This kind of technology could turn an average, forceless commoner into a powerful Jedi or Sith warrior just by putting on the equipment.

With a small circular disk on each hand to focus the force and give it an exit through the body, these man-made force users could do just about everything that normal force users could. They could perform force push, force pull and force lightning as well as other internal force techniques such as heightened awareness and increased speed and all with little to no training what-so-ever. The reason that this was possible was that the equipment was a bionic technology. With a small chip implanted into the back of the head and nearly into the spinal column, the equipment picked up on brain frequencies. The end result was that the user was able to simply think what force move they wanted to perform and the equipment made it happen.

The machinery, known as the Equalizer due to its ability to blend the Jedi and Sith into the common people, was first widely accepted by the rebels throughout the galaxy during the Force Wars. With the fighting between Jedi, Sith and eventually the Jensaarai erupting in all systems, the citizens had come to despise the force users to an extent. Everywhere they went the force users seemed to bring combat and struggles with them. Eventually, the people declared that the Jedi and Sith were in a force Civil War and that any force user should be labeled dangerous and that all who come into contact with them should be extremely cautious and escape their presence if possible.

The claim was sound enough. Even the Jedi had begun to blend their self-righteous ways into the darkness. Their goal and purpose was still to protect the galaxy and its people, but with the Sith becoming more brutal and even less merciful, battles seemed to spring up wherever the force users went. If they didn't come to a system with enemies tailing them, then their enemies were hunting them down to try to finish them off. It was a decent assumption that wherever a force user went, a battle was sure to follow.

The same was especially true for the Sith. They had always lacked compassion for the common people but now, in the throes of an all out war, the Sith had made it their personal mission to level any city that resisted their rule. Entire sections of Coruscant had been quarantined due to the amount of destruction that the war had caused. There had been unbelievable amounts of civilian casualties as the Sith raided Jedi territory and slaughtered all who resisted their control.

Despite the Sith's overall increase in brutality, there were a few that went the opposite way. They were Sith warriors that had taken pity upon the common folk. They fought with the same brutality as the rest of their brethren but they attempted to keep their targets aimed at the enemy, not the innocent bystanders. This group of Sith combined with a darker Jedi population made for a huge gray region between the Jedi and the Sith. This created the perfect environment for Ryu and Brianna when they returned to the galaxy to set up the Jensaarai.

The civilians of the galaxy had finally had enough. With the arrival of a third party trying to stake it's claim to the galaxy, the people knew that there would be more destruction and more battles as the Jedi, Sith, and Jensaarai fought a 1 on 1 on 1 battle. The people began to fight back. It started in little waves such as rejecting taking refugees and escalated to actually getting violent with a force user who would come to their door. Some force users were met with blaster fire from residential areas as the people voiced their distaste for the force users. On the radical side of the rebellion, there was a group of marauders calling themselves the Midichlorian Dousers whose sole purpose was to find, ambush, and kill force users that had been separated from the rest of the group. They were relatively successful. More casualties seem to fell on the side of the Midichlorian Dousers but they managed to kill a few rouge force users. But it wasn't until the Jensaarai began to take control of the war that the people began having secret meetings in the towns to discuss ways to effectively rebel.

Of course, Ryu had always known of the plan for rebellion but his plans were set higher. For the time being, the threat was still very low of a real rebellion against the vast army of force users under Ryu's command. The Force Civil War continued as usual but, with the number of Sith and Jedi slowly decreasing and the number of graysiders increasing, the fighting became more disperse. The destruction, however, did not stop. This was largely due to the fact that the Jedi and Sith had gone into desperation mode and were doing anything that they could to kill Jensaarai soldiers. The people were more outraged than ever. They were sitting by as their cities were brought to ruins by the fighting going on. But the icing on the proverbial cake was that they were once again staring at the possibility of a totalitarian Empire.

A year after the fighting officially ended, the rebellion gained a leader. No one knew his name, not even those under his command, but they followed him none-the-less. He was a brilliant strategist and, more importantly, he had a vast knowledge of the Jensaarai's inner workings and structure. Ryu had no choice but to assume that someone had betrayed him. But when many, many internal investigations by his best operatives had come back with no leads and no threads, Ryu had to assume that the leader was simply extremely well educated.

Despite a few situations where the rebel's strategy and knowledge paid off, the Jensaarai were dominating the fighting. Ryu had confidence in Ryken Trikerex, Ryu's most powerful and most successful General, to put down this minor nuisance. So he began to fortify his Jensaarai structure. Ryu had never planned to turn the galaxy into another Empire but he did plan to take control of planetary defense and create a galaxy wide council, similar in form to the Republic. Just as Octavian Augustan did in Rome on the planet called Earth, Ryu would maintain the forms of a republic while maintaining his own control. However, he never got to accomplish that feat because, just about a year or so after Ryu had turned control of the rebellion over to Ryken, he was informed that more force users had sprung up in the ranks of the rebellion.

It was only after investigation and much spying that Ryu realized that the force users had been manufactured. The fighting began to even out as the Equalizer became more common throughout the rebel ranks. Now, the rebels not only had a brilliant leader, but they had the weapons to back their strategy. The rebellion began to look more and more like the Force Civil Wars as the rebels became stronger and bolder. They began attacking the Jensaarai directly rather than waiting for the opportune moment. Ryu was eventually forced to take the reins back from General Ryken. Ryu tried to go on the offensive but they always seemed to know the attack was coming which only made Ryu question even more the loyalty of his warriors.

Soon, the rebellion had grown to recruit warriors from all over the galaxy. While many civilians stayed neutral and kept their heads down, just as many volunteered to have the chip implanted and to take up arms against Ryu and the Jensaarai. For Ryu, it eventually felt like he was fighting against the entire universe. He couldn't leave his stronghold without being on guard the entire time. Depending on the length of his journey, Ryu would sometimes take a small contingency of soldiers in order to keep himself safe in case an ambush should be waiting for them. Though Ryu knew enough crowd control techniques that fighting a group of them wouldn't be too difficult, Brianna always insisted he have the extra protection. Though his pride would never let him admit it, Ryu couldn't help but feel slightly relieved to have the extra amount of warriors to watch his back.

But there was no one to help him as he stood on the far end of the greeting hall, watching as the pathetic excuses for force users came bursting through the doorway. Ryu always found it amusing to look at situations and evaluate the contributing factors that led up to it. As it turned out, Ryu forming the Jensaarai was one of the major ones... Isn't it funny how our actions, though perhaps done under the intention of ending fighting for good could come back to bite us in the ass? And hard at that! Ryu had been reaping what he had sown ever since the rebellion had broken into open combat, but one thing was for sure. Whether in favor of the Jensaarai or the Rebels, this war would most likely be over tonight. Should this temple fall, the Jensaarai will lose hope in their cause against the rebels and would likely scatter. On the other hand, should Ryu emerge victorious, the casualties on the side of the rebels would be too great to bounce back from. Not to mention that Ryu would suddenly seem invincible after defeating this many warriors.

As the rebels approached Ryu, their vibroblades and electrostaffs blazing and aimed directly at him, he smirked and took one hard lunge. His blade spun in a simple circle to deflect the front most opponent's attack and then crashed down hard into the rebel's helmet. Ryu barely felt the man's flesh as the heat of his jet black saber blade cut through it with ease. The first attack had fallen, the first casualty had been counted... let the fighting begin.

**Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed this installment into Ryu's story. If you did, please review! If not, I'd love to hear some constructive criticism =]


	3. The Battle

**The Battle**

The distinct sounds of a whirling lightsaber filled the greeting hall as Ryu's saber cut its way through the multiple enemies that were coming after him. At first, he was counting the number of enemies as they fell and keeping a record of how they had died. Starting with the first casualty, killed of a head wound; second casualty, stab through the chest and cut diagonally from shoulder to hip; third, legs taken off, fourth, another diagonal cut... this went on for all of half of a minute before Ryu lost count. He also ended up simply not caring how he killed them. As long as they were dead, Ryu was happy.

Eventually, Ryu began to formulate a strategy. Allowing his reflexes and instincts to take over his attacks and parries, Ryu began to remember back to the times that he had spent communicating with his father's force ghost all those years ago on Susevfi. Ryu had spent hours in meditation talking to his father and learning from him. They would talk about everything that had to do with battle; crowd control techniques, saber styles, hand to hand combat moves, weapons, strategies and everything in between.

What Ryu was remembering back to was a form of crowd control that his father had taught him very soon after Ryu had first arrived at the deserted planet. His father had told him to play to his strengths and to take short breaks in the middle of big, one vs. one hundred battles. He had also advised Ryu to separate the single warrior from the group because it wasn't until they surrounded you that their numbers counted for anything. Doing this would keep the pressure and the worry off of Ryu because it allowed him to take it one at a time. In order to accomplish all of this- taking slight "breaks" mid battle, playing to his strengths, and fighting one on one as much as possible- led him to one strategy. It had served him well in the past and he was sure it would be perfect now.

The strategy was to fight relatively one on one as the enemies charged at him, which is what Ryu was doing right now. However, as the group caught up to the faster warriors, they would eventually surround him. That would be when Ryu's crowd control techniques would come into play. He knew a number force attacks that would stem from his body and go in a full 360 degrees around him. Some of the techniques could kill instantly; others simply threw the enemies back several yards. Both would work in this situation. From there, Ryu could judge his level of fatigue and then decide to either fight from a distance with force attacks or allow them to charge at him again and fight them with his saber. Using this strategy, Ryu could show off his prowess with both saber and the force while not over working himself.

Bringing his mind back into the fight, Ryu saw many more bodies scattered about the greeting hall's floor space. That being said, there was very little blood. Lightsabers melted the severed ends of the veins together as they cut through the body, keeping blood from escaping. The only blood found had come from melee attacks that Ryu had obviously used to disorient an opponent. Ryu noticed that the number of enemies coming at him at one time had increased to three or four. He would soon have to force them back.

As three 'warriors' charged into striking distance form Ryu, the center one leading the way and the other two trailing slightly, the center warrior held a hand out to Ryu. The circular disk on his palm glowed slightly and Ryu held up his saber just in time to stop a burst of force lightning from hitting him squarely in the face. The lightning was cut off quickly however. The machinery could only sustain a force lightning for a few seconds before cutting out. But Ryu had no time to retaliate before the rebel who had just attacked him was taking a hard swing at Ryu's head. Ryu knew that he would have to kill these three before executing a crowd control technique.

Rather than ducking or parrying with his saber, Ryu's empty right hand shot up and grabbed the wrist of the rebel's sword arm as Ryu's left arm crossed his body to his right side. In one swift motion, Ryu pulled hard on the rebel's arm and dragged his saber through his mid section so that it was now pointing straight forward at the two on-coming rebels. _"Casualty number… whatever," _Ryu thought to himself, _"cause of death, split in half."_

The other two were on him quickly, one of them holding an electrostaff and the other with a vibroblade. The rebel on Ryu's left lunged forward, stabbing at him with the electrified end of his staff. Ryu needed only to lean in order to dodge the attack. As the shaft of the staff passed him, Ryu's empty hand once again went to work. He grabbed onto the shaft of the staff and held it firmly. Quickly, Ryu's saber shot up and severed the rebel's hand at the wrist. While the rebel was shouting in pain, Ryu pushed the opposite end of the staff back at the rebel, causing the pointed end to jam deep into his stomach. That was the first real bloodshed of the battle.

By this time, the rebel on the right was approaching striking distance. He had his vibroblade held high in the air, ready to kill Ryu while he was busy with the other attacker. Using the staff as a sort of controller, Ryu pulled the other rebel, who still had the staff end jammed in his stomach, into the path of the second rebel. The two collided hard enough to stop the on-coming attack, but not hard enough to truly throw the second rebel off course by very much. From there, Ryu lifted his saber and stabbed it into the first rebel's chest, finally putting him out of misery and ending the screaming that was being released from his lungs. Because of the close proximity of the second rebel after being run into by the first, Ryu's saber was able to find its way into that rebel's chest as well.

"_Casualties… whatever2 and 3… cause of deaths, stab wounds through chest."_

With the immediate threats eliminated, Ryu knew that he now needed to push the flow of warriors back. The number of rebels coming at him at once had grown to six or seven as the bulk of the attack force was reaching him. Bringing his empty right hand up to his left shoulder, Ryu prepared the attack that he wanted to use. It was a fairly simple one. It created a shockwave through the ground that pushed enemies up high into the air and threw them back quite a ways. Depending on how high the enemy flew, the attack could be lethal. However, Ryu didn't care if they died from this or not, he'd kill them eventually.

Unwinding the torque in his upper body built up by lifting his hand over his opposite shoulder, Ryu swung his open palm down hard towards the ground and in a sweeping motion across his body. At first, nothing happened, but as the attack got further away from Ryu, huge updrafts of force winds began to shoot out from the floor. Those standing directly over the updrafts were launched high into the air, nearly to the ceiling. Others were simply thrown in various directions based on where they were in relation to an updraft.

The room was soon filled with flying bodies as they were thrown backwards and away from Ryu. Even the limp, lifeless bodies of the already fallen rebels had joined the mass of soaring bodies over Ryu's head. For a moment, they all hung there, seemingly suspended from the ceiling. And then, just as soon as the suspension had begun, it ended, sending the whole mass of bodies tumbling to the ground, some flipping head over heels, others simply dropping straight down. Ryu braced his ears for impact…

The sounds that followed were excruciating. Not only did the thud of about 50 bodies hitting the floor make the entire temple seem to shake and rumble, but on top of that came the deafening sound of cracking as rebels slammed into the ground in all manner of awkward positions causing an amalgam of different bones to be snapped. Some landed on their feet which broke their legs. Others were fortunate enough to land on their head and were killed instantly. Still others landed on their shoulders or their arm. Ryu hadn't expected the damage that his crowd control technique would do. He wasn't necessarily complaining, but now the hall wasn't simply filled with the sounds of battle. It was now ringing with the sounds of screams of agony and smelled of blood and gore. Ryu could no longer say that there was "very little blood."

Despite the large amount of rebels that had been incapacitated due to their collision with the floor, there were many that survived the fall. A few of the better educated rebels had had enough sense to use a force push to slow their descent. Other simply didn't fall from very high up. All of them were sore, but a decent amount had been able to survive their fall. Ryu was by no means out of hot water just yet because, through the doorway came another small contingency of troops to take the place of the ones that Ryu had just killed. Ryu smirked, somehow happy that it hadn't proven to be that easy.

And so, the process was repeated once again. The enemies would charge head on into Ryu's waiting saber. Whoever got to him first was taken out individually as the slower rebels brought up the rear. This would continue until the number of enemies reaching Ryu at once was about seven. Then Ryu would once again deploy his crowd control technique, sending the enemies flying backwards and up. They would crash to the floor and start all over again. After the second time, the people charging at Ryu had to use their 'force powers' just to push the bodies out of the way so that they could reach Ryu. But it didn't slow them down, nor did it slow Ryu down.

The process repeated one more time before Ryu decided to take a break from the hand to hand combat. He wanted to save his energy for now because he knew that, should he survive this battle, which, so long as this process continued, it seemed he would, Ryu knew his next fight would be against the leader of the rebellion and he or she was sure to have the very best Equalizer technology. And so, rather than allowing his enemies to get within range of a sword or staff, Ryu decided to fight from long range for the time being.

So once he had executed his crowd control attack for the third time, Ryu deactivated his saber and placed it back on his belt. He smirked as the rebels began to slowly pick themselves back up. Just as one rebel had gotten to his feet, Ryu reached out a hand and grabbed him with the force. The man froze and stiffened. His face contorted so that it looked like he was snarling and fighting. He was obviously struggling to break the bonds of the force hold. Foolish civilian. Ryu wasted no time playing with his captive. He simply swiped his hand across his field of vision, sending the rebel flying across the room at a high velocity, only to slam into another rebel as he clambered to his feet.

Then the backup came thundering into the hall through the 'doorway.' Ryu smirked and extended a hand towards the pillar that was closest to him. He moved his hand as if to pull something towards him quickly and the pillar snapped, allowing a large chunk of marble to be pulled away from it towards Ryu. The marble hung there as Ryu smiled maliciously at the oncoming warriors who didn't even seem to notice what he had just done. They were too poorly trained to know what it is that Ryu would do with a huge mass of marble. Ryu simply shook his head slowly then pointed towards the group of quickly approaching warriors.

Watching the marble slam head on into the rebels was like going to a bowling alley. The marble tore through the ranks of the rebels as if they weren't even there. About half way through the group, the marble began to descend slightly. It had never been very high off of the ground so it wasn't long before the makeshift wrecking ball was bouncing and skipping over the ground. Some of the rebels were crushed by the sheer weight of the marble as it slammed into them and took them to the ground with it.

With a huge lane down the middle of the approaching warriors where the marble had gone through less than a second ago, Ryu started to focus on the warriors on either side of the lane. For this task, Ryu deployed all sorts of different ranged techniques. He threw more chunks of marble, fired bolts of force lightning, threw rebels into each other, and wide range force pushes. The enemies were dropping like flies and Ryu's confidence was soaring. He felt invincible, unstoppable, unflappable, and above all, powerful. He should've realized right then that something was about to go very wrong. After all, there is an uncanny truth in the old proverb "Pride goes before the fall…"

As Ryu was picking off the rebels with perfectly aimed ranged attacks, he became increasingly aware of someone watching him. He knew that it wasn't simply one of the warriors he was fighting against because he felt the presence from a distance, as if it were reluctant to show itself. It also felt different. Whoever it was wasn't simply a civilian. As he examined the presence more thoroughly, he realized that it was a naturally born force user. He assumed that this person was the leader of the rebels. After all, it made perfect sense; a Jedi or a Sith leading a rebellion against the Jensaarai who had all but destroyed the Jedi and Sith orders. Whoever this mysterious person was was obviously looking for revenge, the rebellion was simply a cover up.

Ryu took a short pause in killing the rebels in order to look for this ominous force user that was watching the fight but Ryu's vision panned across the battlefield, there was a loud cracking noise that resounded from up in the rafters of the greeting hall. Ryu's head immediately snapped towards the sound... but he saw nothing. Having already taken too much time to search the rafters, Ryu turned back to the rebels. They had gained quite a bit of ground. They were nearly upon him now. But what struck Ryu as strange was the look on their faces all of a sudden. No longer did they have the look of simple blind rage. They weren't simply following orders. They looked confident now. Whatever it was that had created that sound just now had sparked life into this quickly diminishing rebel army. Unnerved, Ryu took a small step back and pulled his saber from his belt. He held it backhand but left it to idle. He didn't need it just yet but he wanted to be ready for anything.

As he did this, a tiny chuckle rose from below him somewhere. It was weak and faint, but a chuckle none-the-less. When he looked down, he saw the broken body of a rebel soldier. He was missing a leg and an arm, hardly fit for battle. Ryu had defeated him on the third wave of soldiers, when he was still letting them reach him to die by his saber. The broken form of a man lifted his head slightly, attempting to look up at Ryu. He didn't say much, and his voice was barely audible, but it made the mystery of that cracking sound seem even more important to Ryu's health.

He said, "Give up... 'Lord' Tikori," the sarcasm in his voice as he said the word "lord" made Ryu want to chop his head off right then. But the dying rebel said more. "You... will not... survive our leader's... attack. Resistance... is futile." Then the man breathed his last breath and collapsed.

Ryu was mad by this point. He wanted this fight to be over. He wanted to go help his people, help those who had fought so valiantly for him. This ominous warning of the rebellion's leader didn't help Ryu's mood. He had conquered insurmountable odds, fought off all manner of creatures in the coliseums on Korriban during his rouge years in the other galaxy, killed some of the most powerful Jedi and Sith of the current age, and he was supposed to be afraid of this mysterious leader and his army of wannabe force warriors? That was extremely unlikely and he didn't much care for being underestimated.

In a fit of rage, Ryu glared at the newly confident army approaching him. He held out one hand, his right, and screamed "DIE ALREADY" at the top of his lungs. As he did so, he unleashed one of the most devastating force lightning torrents he had seen himself perform. The lightning was pure red due to the infusion of Ryu's hatred and anger into it.

He despised these rebels for what they'd done to his life so far. He had imagined being a ruler; being a protector of the galaxy and a celebrated hero. He thought the people would love him for bringing peace to the force and ending the age old conflict between Jedi and Sith. But no. Ryu was viewed simply as the newest threat to the galaxy; the next Ari-katem Tromorik, the ancient Sith Lord who had created an empire years before Ryu's time. He hated them for that. Hated how they compared him to the weaker, less sane Sith Lord. He had refrained from unleashing his hatred up to this point because, after all, they were still common folk. He simply didn't care anymore. He wanted this to be over and to be with his wife and child.

As he was unleashing his anger upon the rebels, Ryu heard the same cracking sound as before. This time, however, it was much closer and on the same level as he was. Whoever their leader was, he was just a short distance behind Ryu on the greeting hall floor. Keeping his lightning aimed at the oncoming warriors, Ryu turned his head to try to catch a glimpse of this leader. But just as Ryu's eyes were beginning to see the wall to which his back was turned, the cracking sound filled the room once again. It had come from the same place as before and when Ryu's eyes came across where he had felt the man's presence, he noticed the dust on the floor was spiraling up as if someone had quickly run away from that spot.

Ryu was getting angrier and angrier every time this happened. He turned back to the targets of his force lightning, glaring harder at them and increasing the power of the attack. The rebels caught in the blast had begun to steam from the intensity. Ryu cut off the lightning and watched them all drop to the ground. He pulled his hand back for another of the moves that he had used earlier to control the crowd.

It was right then, as his right hand was reaching back over his left shoulder that the cracking sound reappeared. This time it was much, much closer. In fact, it sounded like it was directly behind Ryu. With his ears ringing from the sudden blast of sound, Ryu turned hard to his left, swiping his blade in a vertical attack, attempting to slice this apparently powerful leader in half where he stood. But milliseconds before his blade made contact, the cracking resounded once again and the man was gone. Ryu had had enough of this playing around.

Leaning back slightly, Ryu screamed at the top of his lungs. "Where are you! Show yourself and fight me like a man!" Ryu cranked up his senses to maximum, hoping to find this man before he disappeared once again. He didn't have to wait long to find him.

For a third time, Ryu heard the cracking noise directly behind him. At the same time, a man spoke to him in a deep, familiar voice. "I'm right here, Ryu." Ryu sprang to life quickly and had just started to turn when he felt a hand grab the collar around his neck. Before Ryu realized what was happening, the collar was pulled back hard. Then came the heat; the blazing, agonizing heat.

**Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed this installment into Ryu's story. If you did, please review! If not, I'd love to hear some constructive criticism =]

**Next Chapter:** The Reckoning- The identity of the leader is revealed!


	4. The Reckoning

**The Reckoning**

It was excruciating. Whatever was causing the intense heat was burning its way through the fabricated armor that Ryu was wearing. It then pushed its way easily through his spine until he felt it slicing through the layer of skin on his abs. It felt as if someone had lit the air in his chest on fire and let it run rampant through his body. He opened his mouth, trying to get cool air in to douse the flame but to no avail. He could hardly breathe. It felt like hours that the fire stayed within him, burning away his insides. It blocked out all other senses. He couldn't see or hear or if he could, he wasn't able to notice it due to the overlaying pain he was experiencing. He wasn't aware of any actual blade being jammed inside of him, only the heat and the burning that was wracking his body.

Ryu tilted his head downward to see what it was that had pierced through him, more out of curiosity than anything. With his vision blurred from the pain, he saw only red. His first thought was that he was simply seeing a sword that was covered in his blood but it looked too circular to be a vibroblade. He blinked several times rapidly to clear his vision and, after having looked at it with clearer eyes, he realized that it was a blood red lightsaber.

After what seemed like hours, the person holding the saber finally pulled it out of Ryu's back. For a moment or two, Ryu simply stood there, mesmerized by the pain that he was experiencing. He had been cut before, but never had a gash gone this deep, let alone completely through him. Is this what he had been doing to his enemies all these years? Is this the pain that he was causing them? He felt oddly sorry for it. He was getting a taste of his own medicine now, feeling what his enemies felt... and he didn't like it.

Finally his breathing returned to him. It came in shallow, hard gasps of air and only inflamed the searing hot wound even more. He dropped to one knee on the ground, his body suddenly feeling too weak to hold his weight. His left hand reached out in front of him to keep him from falling completely to the floor. His other hand dropped his saber on the floor in front of him and reached up, holding the gaping wound and trying to suppress the pain with the force... but his force control was leaving him quickly. He was becoming less and less aware of the "presence" of anyone in the room. He couldn't feel the fighting that was taking place in the upper levels of the temple complex. He felt as if he couldn't even perform a force push if he had wanted. He had been reduced below the rebels that had attacked him, brought down to the level of the simple civilian.

The rebels that had been running at Ryu were now standing all around him. They stood watching the scene play out as if it was a television show being performed just for them. A few of them were smirking and others were laughing at him. If that coward hadn't snuck up on him and attacked, they certainly wouldn't be laughing. They'd all be dead! But that wasn't the case. Ryu was helpless and powerless. He could only stay crouched there, cursing his own weakness and withering in pain.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen." It was the same deep voice that had spoken right before Ryu was stabbed, the leader of the rebellion. Ryu heard footsteps next to him as the man moved from behind Ryu to in front of him. Ryu could feel the man staring down at him. "This is the reward for your ambition, Ryu," the voice continued calmly. "You were never meant to have this seat of power." Suddenly the man was screaming, his voice tearing through ears that were still ringing from the pain in Ryu's stomach. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Ryu felt the visor helm on his brow whip up as the man grabbed hold of it and yanked hard so that Ryu was staring his enemy in the face.

Ryken Trikerex, Ryu's most trusted advisor and most accomplished Jensaarai Apprentice, stared back with a cold, malicious glare.

A chill ran through Ryu's body. He was amazed. After at least ten internal investigation reports had come back negative, here was the second most powerful man in the Jensaarai order standing above him, the saber that had just pierced through Ryu's stomach held firmly in his left hand. All of his suspicions, all of his doubts, all of his fears were realized in that one moment. He had been taken down by his most trusted officer and one of his closest friends.

Ryu spoke, the anger and amazement was thick in his voice despite the lack of volume that it contained. His words were forced and came in broken pieces. "Why, Ryken? You had the second highest position in the Jensaarai. You were my most trusted advisor. How could you betray me?" Even thinking of his friend plotting against him in secret and reporting his every move back to the rebels made him sick, sicker than his wound was making him feel. But the fact that he hadn't sensed it made him want to vomit in disappointment in himself. Surely there were signs that could've warned him. How could it have gone unnoticed for that long?

Ryken chuckled softly. "I've already told you, Ryu. Pay attention." He dropped Ryu's visor, causing his head to fall back towards the ground. His wound had made him too weak to brace for impact and his forehead crashed into the marble floor, an act which provoked much laughter from the watching rebels. Luckily, Ryu's visor helm kept him from acquiring any extra harm.

Ryken spoke again. "This position was never meant for you. I should have been crowned Saarai-Kaar! I was the strategy behind your entire counter attack on the Sith. Sure, you were the power but without my planning, you wouldn't know where to aim all those midichlorians! I'm the reason that the Jensaarai are so successful, not you!"

Ryu had to admit, there was some slight truth to that claim. Ryken had been the brains of the operation but he was far from the only reason they had won the war. He, perhaps, made the wars shorter, but Ryu would've ended it eventually and would've come out victorious. He hadn't needed Ryken. Ryu wasn't about to say that to him, though. He couldn't risk making Ryken execute him now. Ryu wanted to keep him talking so that he could try to build up his strength once again.

"I gave you the highest position that I could, Ryken! And it's a position that you've flourished at. Strategy is what you're good at, it's where you belong!" Ryu protested.

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Ryken was screaming all of a sudden, his voice echoing throughout the greeting hall. The rebels grew stiff at the sound of their leader's raised voice. "I deserved the title of Saarai-Kaar, not you, Ryu! Without me, the Jensaarai would be NOTHING!" Ryken stopped there and simply glared at Ryu for a moment. Eventually, though, he took a deep breath to calm himself down and then smirked. "But thanks to these," he lifted his hands and stared at his palms in satisfaction, "I finally have the power to TAKE the position from you."

It was then that Ryu noticed all of the equipment strapped to Ryken's body. He couldn't believe his eyes, didn't want to. He hoped it was the pain from his wound playing tricks on him. But it wasn't. Attached to Ryken's palms were the same pieces of machinery that were strapped to the rest of the rebel army. Ryu couldn't believe what he was seeing. A former Lord of the Sith, the highest General in the Jensaarai army had accepted the chip implant to be able to use the Equalizer. Ryu couldn't believe it. The civilians were abominations but this... this went beyond that. To manipulate what the midichlorians had created us to be was incredulous, a crime against nature! And all just to take Ryu out? Ryu felt bad for how desperate Ryken must have been to turn to that technology.

Ryu simply shook his head slowly. "Ryken... I can't believe you. You're a disgrace to all natural born force users!"

Ryken chuckled softly. "No, Ryu. You just don't see the potential that this equipment has! If you thought that the Jensaarai were powerful, just wait until I equip them with this kind of technology. No one, not even the Sith Lords of old would be able to challenge us and be able to hold their own! The Jensaarai could destroy planets with this power! They could wipe out an entire population just by thinking about doing it! We would be the most feared force users in all of history! And I'll be leading the way... the most powerful force user ever recorded in history. The universe will bow at my feet!"

"There will always be others, Ryken." Ryu said quietly. "Even if you kill me now, there will be others who will stand against you. You won't be on that throne for very long."

Ryken smiled at Ryu, a look resembling pity playing across his face. "You're right. If you're the only one who dies, then no one will learn to fear me. But I've made other arrangements than just your death."

A chill shot through Ryu's body as the words left Ryken's mouth. Ryu almost wished he could die right now so that he didn't have to hear the names of Ryken's next target... because Ryu already knew who they were going to be.

"That woman that left here in the star cruiser before my men broke down the door... That was Brianna, right? Brianna Tikori? Your wife?" Ryken's voice was plagued with malicious intent. None of those had actually been a question at all. Ryken knew Brianna and knew that she and Ryu had been married ever since the end of the wars with the Jedi and Sith. He was simply toying with Ryu. It was as if he knew exactly what was going through Ryu's mind; the vows for revenge, the anger, the frustration, the hatred. Ryken was feeding off of it. "Come now, Ryu. You didn't think that I would simply ignore the woman who was screaming your name as we were breaking in did you? You don't think I simply let her and... your son, I'm guessing, get away, did you?"

Ryu glared up at Ryken, his hatred running deep through his veins. Ryken simply smiled. "I sent two of my spies on to their ship to report back to me. You told them to find your sister, Dominique, correct?" Ryu didn't have to answer. His look of anger told Ryken everything he needed to hear. "Good! Well that plays perfectly into my plan!" Ryken crouched down so that he as on the same level as Ryu. He sat back on his heels, balancing on his toes as he spoke to Ryu in the friendly tone that Ryu was more accustomed to hearing. "You see, Ryu. The fact of the matter is that you're right, your death will only cause the Jensaarai to take up arms with more fervor and determination. But if I extinguish the entire Tikori bloodline!... now that is a feat that will earn me the respect and fear that I deserve! So thank you, Ryu. Thank you for leading me straight to the last living Tikoris! But don't be upset. You'll soon be reunited with all three of them... in the afterlife."

With that, Ryken smiled once more at Ryu and then stood to leave through the same door that Brianna had been forced out of not too long ago. When he was about half way there, Ryken suddenly stopped. He turned back to Ryu looking contemplative. "You know, Ryu, your son really is beautiful... and he has such potential! Perhaps I'll just kill his mother and take him as my own son." With a proud smirk, Ryken continued towards the rubble in front of the door, leaving his men to deal with Ryu as they deemed necessary.

Ryu simply stared down at the ground, hatred and a shout for revenge coursing through his veins. Ryu willed his body to move, shouting to himself on the inside to get up and go finish it; to slay Ryken himself and to protect his family. But he was too weak. This only frustrated Ryu even more. His anger was building. He thought of Dominique, his only living relative, his last memento from when their parents were still alive. He thought of James, his son. He couldn't stand the thought of him being raised as a Trikerex. Ryu's son would NOT grow up having the Equalizer to boost the raw power that his lineage had already given him. The thought of that enraged Ryu even more. Finally, his mind went to Brianna, the love of his life. Words could not describe the fury that built up when Ryu imagined Ryken slaying her as she tried desperately to protect her son from the power hungry monster that Ryken had become.

Ryu resumed screaming at himself to move, to not simply sit there as Ryken ran off to kill the only family that Ryu had left. He couldn't go quietly into the night. He had to at least try. He had to DIE trying! Finally, with a sudden surge of power and energy, Ryu's hand moved over his saber which was lying relatively close to his left hand. In a burst of anger, Ryu let out a deafening battle cry and pulled himself upright so that he was on one knee. In the same motion, Ryu threw his saber hilt as if it were one of his throwing darts. As it was reaching Ryken's back, Ryu snapped his fingers and the blade ignited, piercing Ryken between the shoulder blades and coming out through his chest. Ryken hadn't had any time to react between Ryu's battle cry and the blade stabbing into him.

Before any of the rebels could react, Ryu had jumped to his feet and, using force-enhanced speed, was right behind Ryken in mere milliseconds. Ryu grabbed the saber hilt that was protruding from Ryken's back and he pulled it up slightly, making the wound wider and even more painful.

In a deep, growling voice, Ryu spoke directly into Ryken's ear. "This is the reward for your ambition, Ryken! You were never meant to have this seat of power! Now... do the universe a favor and DIE!" In one fluid motion, Ryu's grip on the saber hilt switched from forehand to back hand and he pulled the saber hilt down along Ryken's spine. The saber split Ryken from the mid-point in his sternum, down his body, and had exited through his groin. The limp carcass collapsed in a pile on the floor at Ryu's feet. _"Casualty... the number is unimportant. Cause of death, crossing Ryu Tikori."_

Ryu knew that this was as far as the road went for him. He wasn't going to get out of this alive. That last little burst of energy to kill Ryken had been all that his body would be able to stand. In fact, the only thing that made that attack possible was the fact that Ryu had tapped into his anger. But that last attack had drained him dry. Fatigue was setting in once again. His vision was blurring, his legs were shaking under the weight of his own body. He could hardly feel anything or hear anything. He was too tired, too beaten. The pain of his wound was resurfacing as he strained to hold his body upright.

Ryu hardly even noticed the mass of rebel troops charging him once again. They were angry, seeking revenge on Ryu for having killed their leader. Ryu somehow didn't care. He was ready... ready to leave this body, ready to join his father and mother. And yet his body fought on. Through the haze in his mind, Ryu was vaguely aware that he was still fighting back. That once again, his instincts were carrying him forward into battle. He was much slower, however; much more clumsy. He hoped that the end would come quickly. His body was tired, his soul was tattered and torn. He wanted to finally find rest.

Most people see their lives flash before their eyes. Ryu did to an extent, but he saw the people rather than the events... only people. The ones that had molded him into something better than what he had been before. Ava and Samantha Hunter, the first a lover and the second her sister. Kitara Towani, Lithianda Rayli, and Romelus Ares, all dear friends and constant sources of encouragement. Rie Basoar, Nikkos Tyris, Sappia Thanatos, and Lady Immolate, the people that Ryu had looked to more as mentors than friends. Then his thoughts turned to his family; his sister, Dominique. The love of his life Brianna. His sons, Alexander Hunter and James Tikori.

Ryu hoped that he had enough control of the force to at least send a message to each of them just to, if nothing else, say goodbye.

Finally it was over. He didn't know how he died; didn't know who had dealt the final blow... but he no longer felt his body moving. He no longer felt anything at all for that matter. He was gone, finally finding rest. He had died the way his father and mother had and for the same cause.

"_Casualty... number one. Cause of death... protecting his loved ones at all cost"_

_**Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed this installment into Ryu's story. If you did, please review! If not, I'd love to hear some constructive criticism =]_

Also, let me explain that you are not meant to know half of the people in that paragraph just a few lines up. In fact, the only people you should know beside Ryu's family are Nikkos Tyris and possibly Ava Hunter. The rest are all very important to me as a writer however. As I mentioned, Ryu's character came from roleplaying and this story was written at a point where I had tried to quit roleplaying. The people mentioned above were all huge influences on my writing and on me outside of Ryu. Their descriptions of them, with the exception of Ava Hunter being my lover and Brianna being the love of my life, are accurate to what they were to me. They were my mentors, my inspiration, and my dear friends. You will not know them, but they needed to be featured and mentioned in a story that was supposed to be closure and an end for Ryu's character. Obviously it wasn't, but still, haha. That's who those people are.


End file.
